Why Should I Study Computer Science?

As a college student, you very likely know how to use a computer for many tasks - from word processing to surfing the Web to managing your music, photo, and movie collections. You are probably also aware of the pervasive presence of computers in everyday life - in transportation, communication, entertainment, household appliances, educational institutions, government, and business.

What you might not know is that computer science is the discipline that has made this entirely new way of life possible. The study of computer science, like other subjects in a liberal arts education, will give you a broad and deep understanding of the fundamental concepts and principles underlying much of our world.

There are several special aspects of computer science that make it an important and useful field of study.

Algorithmic Thinking

Computer science focuses on the discovery and development of algorithms, or methods of solving problems that can be automated. No matter what field you work in, if you can conceptualize the solution of a problem as an algorithm, that problem can be solved with a computer. Algorithmic thinking that you learn to do in computer science is a systematic and general-purpose approach to problem solving that cuts across all of the disciplines in science, engineering, and the arts.

Designing and Making Things

Computer science has sometimes been called the "science of the artificial". Computer scientists design and construct descriptions (algorithms) of entirely new processes never before encountered in nature. These processes can make or bring into being an entirely artificial world. Unlike the real world of artifacts created by artists, craftsmen, and engineers, the world created by computer scientists can be entirely virtual. By learning how to design and make things in computer science, you will become a better designer and maker of things in any field.

Information Architecture

The "things" that the computer scientist makes and manipulates with algorithms are pieces of information. Many of these "bits" are digitized representations of "real things", such as photographs, musical tunes, and movies. The computer scientist focuses on how to organize and control the complexity of this information so that it can better represent reality. The skills of organizing and managing the complexity of information that you acquire in computer science are important in almost any area of work or study.